College Women's Basketball: Northern finishes strong in win over Moorhead

April 03, 2007|By Dave Vilhauer, American News Sports Writer

After a rare home defeat on Friday, the Northern State women's basketball players were not about to lose a second straight game at Wachs Arena, especially on a night that honored their parents. The Wolves played with intensity from start to finish and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 65-59 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday night. "We usually play pretty well at home," said Northern center Noelle Hall. "After (Friday's) performance we wanted to make it a little better for the crowd, and obviously for us and our parents and the seniors." - orthern trailed 53-50 with 6 minutes remaining before going on a 15-6 closing spurt. Jaclyn Arns scored five straight points before Hall added four more of her own to put the Wolves on top 59-53 with 3:55 left. The two combined for 21 second-half points. "We had some kids step up and have some good games for us; Arns and Noelle Hall," Fredrickson said. "That's what it takes to get out of one of these things. You just have to have a couple of players step up for you." Once the Wolves owned the lead late in the game, they used hustle plays to stay on top. They were quicker to loose balls which resulted in extra possessions. Arns, Hall and Melissa Braaten each made two free throws in the final 34 seconds to secure the victory. "We needed a win bad," Fredrickson said. "They came out and really played with aggressiveness and some passion." Part of that desire was established by Fredrickson before the game when he told his players they needed to play "nasty basketball," according to Arns. "We just wanted it more. That's what it came down to in this game," she said. "We had a lot more fire than what we've had the last couple of games. It was all about the attitude. You have to have it right from the start of the game and never lose it." Hall finished with a game-high 22 points and Arns contributed 15. Carolin Becker hauled down 11 rebounds. Moorhead, which owned a nine-point lead in the first half, lost for just the third time in 14 conference contests. The victory not only keeps Northern in the running for a possible first-round home playoff game, but it re-established some confidence. "We definitely needed a win," Hall said. "It was a great team effort. Our determination showed out there, tonight." The Wolves improved to 17-7 overall and 10-5 in the NSIC. They travel to Bemidji, Minn., on Friday before heading to Crookston, Minn., on Saturday. "Going into next weekend, this is just a huge win," Arns said. "We needed to get at least one out of two this weekend." MINNESOTA-STATE MOORHEAD (17-6, 11-3): Allison Swenson 4-7 3-4 11, Shelly Soule 1-6 0-0 3, Jessica Fesenmeier 4-8 4-4 12, Katie Walden 3-10 3-5 10, Lindsey Anderson 4-7 2-2 10, Krista Opheim 1-3 2-3 4, Chris Falzon 2-3 0-0 6, Jessica Trautwein 0-3 0-2 0, Meghan Rettke 1-7 1-1 3, Alison Nash-Gerlach 0-3 0-0 0, Cydney Froelich 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 15-21 59. - ORTHERN STATE (17-7, 10-5): Miranda Boepple 2-9 2-2 7, Carolin Becker 1-4 3-4 5, Celia Westphal 1-2 0-0 2, Jaclyn Arns 5-10 4-5 15, Melissa Braaten 1-5 3-4 6, Allison Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Ryanne Brockhaus 0-4 2-2 2, Jessica Deinert 2-3 0-0 6, Megan Kusler 0-0 0-0 0, Noelle Hall 8-18 6-7 22, Claire Honer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 20-24 65. Halftime score - Tied 34-34. 3-point field goals - Moorhead 4-13 (Swenson 0-1, Soule 1-4, Walden 1-4, Opheim 0-1, Falzon 2-2, Froelich 0-1); Northern 5-13 (Boepple 1-3, Arns 1-4, Braaten 1-3, Deinert 2-3). Total fouls - Moorhead 22; Northern 17. Rebounds - Moorhead 40 (Swenson 8); Northern 42 (Becker 11). Assists - Moorhead 9 (Walden 4); Northern 12 (Boepple 3). Blocks - Moorhead 6 (Rettke 3); Northern 6 (Hall 3). Steals - Moorhead 1 (Rettke 1); Northern 5 (Brockhaus 2, Hall 2). Turnovers - Moorhead 12; Northern 9. Officials - Ryan Weilzirel, Mike Kolness, Mike Gullingsrud.